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I started playing with computers in middle school as a hobby and it basically morphed into a career. I've been in the industry since the 90s, well before everyo

I started playing with computers in middle school as a hobby and it basically morphed into a career. I've been in the industry since the 90s, well before everyone realized what a lucrative career it can be. And I saw the same thing - the field became flooded with people who were only chasing the money. My advice to you: don't worry about it. Do not underestimate the competitive advantage you have if you are passionate about software development. The people that are chasing the money clock out at 5. There's nothing wrong with that, but they aren't trying to teach themselves Haskell on a Friday night just for fun. You will work harder than those people, not because you're scared, but because you love the work. And that experience will lead to career success. It doesn't happen overnight, but skilled and passionate people do bubble up on the food chain (assholes do too, but such is life).

martinesko36 7y ago
What I see is a subset of people who chase the money who are actually very smart and willing to work hard for it in the long run - think those high schoolers who had to be type A students to get into Ivy League with 4.0 GPA and SAT scores so perfect they still put it on their resume.
- analyst74 7y ago
  Type As don't tend to get into engineering, and even if they do, they'll quickly realize it doesn't bring them as much status, influence or whatever they're seeking as they thought. Very few companies are engineering driven, some are product driven, some a finance driven, some are sales driven, and the respective department will have more clout than engineering.
finolex1 7y ago
It's not just people looking only for money that are jumping into the field. I know of several classmates who started off as math/physics/economics majors, took a couple of CS classes because they heard "everyone needs to know programming", ended up liking it and are now CS majors. Even if a majority of new entrants to the field are in it only for money, there's still a large proportion who truly enjoy it as well.

martinesko36 7y ago

What I see is a subset of people who chase the money who are actually very smart and willing to work hard for it in the long run - think those high schoolers who had to be type A students to get into Ivy League with 4.0 GPA and SAT scores so perfect they still put it on their resume.

analyst74 7y ago
Type As don't tend to get into engineering, and even if they do, they'll quickly realize it doesn't bring them as much status, influence or whatever they're seeking as they thought. Very few companies are engineering driven, some are product driven, some a finance driven, some are sales driven, and the respective department will have more clout than engineering.

finolex1 7y ago

It's not just people looking only for money that are jumping into the field. I know of several classmates who started off as math/physics/economics majors, took a couple of CS classes because they heard "everyone needs to know programming", ended up liking it and are now CS majors. Even if a majority of new entrants to the field are in it only for money, there's still a large proportion who truly enjoy it as well.